Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said in a March 15 pastoral message that “the current national campaign of mass detention and deportations is a grave moral evil, one which must be opposed, with prayer, peaceful action and acts of solidarity with those affected.”

“I am blessed with many friendships with our local law enforcement and immigration enforcement agents,” he said. “Their work to keep our community safe is vital. But the death of those in immigration detention is unacceptable. An unjust immigration system that leads to deadly outcomes is destructive of our shared humanity. No one has to obey an immoral order.”

At a UN event held on March 12, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia joined diplomats from Italy, Paraguay, and Turkey in highlighting the exploitative nature of surrogacy.

Archbishop Caccia, until recently Permanent Observer of the Holy See at the United Nations and now the apostolic nuncio to the United States, said that “stories of the rich and famous commissioning surrogates are common, whereas stories of wealthy women serving as surrogates are rare.”

Quoting Pope Leo, he added, “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, [surrogacy] violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of the family.”

In a message for the 100th anniversary of the French Movement of Christian Entrepreneurs and Leaders, Pope Leo XIV said that “the vocation of the Christian leader should be understood as a service to the common good and the integral development of the person.”

“Economic activity cannot be limited to the mere management of resources or the simple pursuit of profit,” he continued. “Businesses and the economy, when faithful to their truest vocation, cannot be seen merely as instruments of production or accumulation, but involve communities of people called to grow together.”

The Pontiff also spoke of the continued relevance of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 social encyclical Rerum Novarum: it “calls on entrepreneurs to respect the dignity of every worker and to protect the most vulnerable.”

Pope Leo XIV, who has lived at the Palace of the Holy Office since his election, took possession of the papal apartment at the Apostolic Palace on March 14, following a renovation.

Pope Francis chose not to stay in the papal apartment, instead residing in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guest house, during his 12-year pontificate.